Reincarnation
by Anini-in-Wonderland
Summary: When Vasilisa begins to have nightmares again, Rose agrees that something wrong is going on. When they begin digging into what's going on, new surprises pop up along with Lissa's guardian who is shadow kissed as well... and may know a thing or two about what's going on. (Set before Homecoming & Bloodlines; after Last Sacrifice) Rated M for sexual content!
1. Prologue

_Hi guys! It's Ani(tza) here! I finally began my first fan fiction on this new account. Surprise, surprise; it's actually not any of the things I had listed on my bio but in fact, Vampire Academy! I actually deeply in love with this series and want to read the spin off about Jillian and the book (Homecoming) in Dimitri's point of view. Anyways, I know it's odd from what many of you are used to but I hope you enjoy this story! I fully intend on finishing this and added a sequel. Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I do not, in any way own Vampire Academy or its series. I am not paid to do this nor am I affiliated with Richelle Mead. I wish I was because damn, I want this to be canon._

_**Prologue.**_

Vasilisa Dragomir. The one girl I had sworn to protect. She always came first but for more reasons than just because that it was drilled into my head since I was a toddler. She was my best friend. We had a psychic bond that well, kept us connected in a spiritual sense. She was a spirit user and I was…_shadow kissed_. Being shadow kissed entailed many things; one of them being that I saw ghosts and could sense when Strigoi were nearby. Also, due to the bond, I had to suck the darkness out of Lissa that came whenever she used her magic.

It was just, well, complicated on all aspects of the sense.

There were also many complications that were added onto it once Lissa and I were dragged back to St. Vladimir Academy. I had then met the man who seemed to sum up my entire being: Dimitri. Tall, dark shoulder length hair and a slight Russian accent; Dimitri was not only seriously sexy but someone who I ended up falling in love with. My feelings weren't one sided, however. He felt the same, often calling me _Roza_ when he felt exceptionally affectionate towards me. Though in the time Lissa and I spent through the school year, things had become desperately complicated. I'm not going into the nitty-gritty details since a lot has went on.

Really, all that matters now is that everything was fine now. Somehow, things had worked itself out. All was good, just as I had expected. Dimitri and I were together. The bond had dispelled (meaning I wasn't going crazy anymore). Lissa was doing her thing at court and the Strigoi threat had been notably smaller now since everything seemed to be over.

Or so I had thought…


	2. Chapter 1

_Chapter one. It's not much unfortunately but the better parts come later in the story. Enjoy._

_Disclaimer: I don't own this. I wish I did._

_**Chapter One**_

It all started when I heard footsteps rush past my door. I was asleep in my room in the palace, a room not too far from Lissa. Now that our bond was gone, it had become harder to be her guardian. I hadn't been counting on the bond dispelling. It wasn't until a month or so of being _Queen_ Vasilisa's guardian that I realized how much I depended on it. I had thought back to the words Dimitri had told me during my field experience back when I was a student. _"You also need to learn what it's like to work with someone you can't instantly sense that they're in danger.'_" Son of a bitch.

Karma sucks ass.

I shot up in bed, moving away from Dimitri's arms that had been wrapped around my waist lovingly. That had woke him up as well. Before he could even ask what was wrong, I ran out the door. Whoever that was outside had only been heading towards Lissa's room.

I ran down to her room which was the next room over. Her door was open. When I entered, Christian was awake, peering over Lissa with a worried expression on his face. Lissa, on the other hand, was whimpering in the arms of someone else.

Elspeth, who had been assigned as Lissa's second guardian, held her in her arms in an embrace. I didn't know much about her- only that she had been accepted into being a guardian at a young age. She wasn't willing to share much personal information. Though she was extremely outgoing, I didn't even know her age. I only knew that she was Scottish and Turkish, like me.

"Lissa! Are you okay?" I asked warily as I approached her. Her jade green eyes looked paler than usual, her eyes bloodshot from crying. I had half a mind to shoot a glare over to Christian but something told me it wasn't because of him.

"I-I had another dream," Lissa breathed shakily. I almost groaned. Instead of having the darkness affect her mood, it seemed to have manifested itself into her dreams, making them hellish nightmares. It's been going on since our bond broke but less since Elspeth became her guardian. It terrified me to know she'd have to suffer in her sleep but it was notably better than how she was before. I didn't want to think back to those days where she'd go dark and do scary things. She even cut herself to cope.

Nope, nightmares were _definitely_ better.

I was aware that Dimitri had entered the room now, looking over at Lissa who still rested comfortably in Elspeth's embrace. She was calm now which was odd. Usually after a nightmare, she was shaking afterwards and I stayed until she stopped. However, with Elspeth, she seemed calm and relaxed. I felt a pang of jealousy though I know I shouldn't have.

"Is she okay?" Dimitri asked, his guardian bravado on on account of Elspeth's presence. The Scottish dame looked over at him, nodding. Though she was a mix, she barely held any hint of being either Scottish or Turkish. Her hair, which was curly when natural, was dark brown and almost black with a reddish hue in bright lighting or in the sun. If anything, she looked a lot like me; like a younger version with shorter hair, near-black eyes and just a munchkin for a dhampir. Sometimes when I looked at her, I felt like I was looking at a mirror. It scared me sometimes.

"She's fine," Elspeth replied, a slight (very slight) Scottish hilt coming from her words. I rarely heard her spoke but every time I did, I was reminded of my mother.

Dimitri relaxed besides me. Though he was still tense (as he always was) it was something close to how he was when he was with me. When Lissa had fallen asleep again, it was nearing closer to the morning. Christian climbed back into bed, holding Lissa close. Dimitri and I headed down the hall with Elspeth, she having to go a room longer than us to head back to bed. The sun was getting ready to make it's dip in the sky. Morning was only a few hours away.

Now let me elaborate on the term "morning". In the human world, morning was when the sky was beginning to rise. The start of their day. To vampires, it was when the sun was starting to set- meaning late evening for humans.

Entering our posh, overdone room that was now bathed in the orangey-gold sunlight, I gave out a sigh. When this happened, I wish our bond was back. I hated seeing her suffer like this. Maybe if we still had the bond, I'd be able to filter out the darkness from her. Sometime, just sometimes, I have a moment of weakness and wish she could reestablish the bond. I slinked my way onto the bed, the frown still etched on my face. I didn't even right myself. I just lay there. With my gaze still on the ceiling, I heard Dimitri sigh. He lay on the bed next to me.

"Roza," he began. I shook my head. "Don't. No Zen life lessons okay?" He chuckled at that, his husky voice soothing me. His arms wrapped around mine then, holding me close. "Don't worry. It's just a nightmare. It could be a lot worse." He was right. It could be. I knew it. he knew it. Christian knew it. Heck, I even got the sense that Elspeth knew it but maybe it was just me being over-the-top.

"Let's go back to bed Roza. We need to be up early tomorrow."

Sighing, I fixed myself under the bedsheets, curled up close to Dimitri, the man who held me down like a rock. My other half, the one who completed me. The one who kept me sane when even I myself thought I was crazy. As drowsiness overcame me, I was sure I heard an "I love you" from him. I knew I slept with a smile on my face.


	3. Chapter 2

_Whoo, replies every day! Isn't it awesome? I'm afraid that as summer progresses, I won't be able to update as frequently. Let's just all hope that I never hit writer's block. I have high hopes with this story!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters of the Vampire Academy series. The only one I own is Elspeth, who is actually pretty badass. I patent her people.~_

_**Chapter Two.**_

I think the downside of being a guardian was having to stand up all the time. Of course when i was younger I thought all of this was going to be a breeze since I was going to be with my best friend. I guess I hadn't been counting on her becoming queen. I couldn't complain though. How many times had I come close to not being assigned to her? Too many to count, I tell you.

Lissa apparently had to go to a meeting with some important Moroi up in New York. Naturally, Christian wanted to tag along (not that I'm complaining). Jillian couldn't be left alone in the palace by herself. We had become far too aware with the corruption in Court. Who knows who'll try to assassinate her just to get Lissa kicked down from her throne? In the end, Lissa ended up inviting Adrian as well. It wasn't the best idea on her part but knowing her, she'd feel guilty leaving him behind.

"You're tense," Elspeth said from behind me. I jumped, not expecting her to be there. In fact, I could have sworn she was by Jillian and Adrian, serving as a second guard since Adrian never really had a guardian despite being a royal. I turned my head to her, still keeping a lookout for Lissa who was boarding the plane.

"What are you talking about?" I asked. Though I had somewhat of an idea where she was hinting at, I was sure there was no possible way she'd know. She smirked and somehow it ended up irking me. She sped up, now walking next to me. Her smug look was still present. I had half a mind to smack it off her face but you know, that wouldn't sit too well with the others.

"You're always like this when you're around Adrian. I mean, come on Rose! I know what happened between you but you have got to start relaxing. True, he might still have feelings for you but how do you expect to keep on living here? You do know he's always going to be around. Stop acting all weird over it," she commented. We both stopped at the bottom of the stairs. Eddie and Dimitri were already boarding, leaving Elspeth and I outside. I studied her for probably the first time since I've met her. Her hair was straight, her ends curling slightly just below her shoulders. She was dressed casually (much to both Eddie and Dimitri's dismay) in cargo pants and a tank top. Everything about her screamed tomboyish for the exception with her manicured nails. At court, there wasn't much of a threat as one would expect and since she had been here for about two years, I suppose she took advantage of the low chances of messing up her nails. She sported fingerless leather gloves which I come to know as her trademark accessory if she could pull it off with the outfit she was wearing. She was about five foot three inches which was relatively short for a dhampir. She smiled then.

"Was I right?" I rolled my eyes, shoving her lightly to the stairs. "Oh shut up Elle."

I took my seat next to Dimitri across from Lissa. Eddie and Elspeth were with Adrian and Jill across from us. The seats were ivory leather and plush for comfort. The floor of the plane was carpeted with red velvet. If we stood up and when through the curtains, we'd find a lounging area with a bar. This was a private jet which I suppose was for use by the queen only. Being queen had its perks, I had to admit. The bar sounded lovely but being a guardian, especially Lissa's, I had to be on guard 24/7. Even if I was on a plane suspended in the air- which in fact always proved fatal to me since we'd be away from any wards that would keep the ghosts away. Though I had long since mastered how to keep them at bay even without wards, I couldn't stop the killer headache I received.

I hissed, rubbing my temples soothingly. I was aware of the worried glances I was thrown. I even received one from Elspeth who had to learn of my being shadow kissed. She didn't seem all that fazed by it, surprisingly. I saw the worried expression Lissa had and I almost expected to feel it through the bond. I obviously received nothing. Even without it, I knew she wished there was something she could do about it. I just sighed, resting my head on Dimitri's shoulder to sleep it all off. Not any sooner I began to drift off, I felt the familiar sucking that only meant one thing: Adrian was walking into my dream.

"Are you fucking kidding me? You're across from me on the plane!" I exclaimed as soon as the world he manifested around us took shape. This time it was a cabin at a beach. I knew because I could hear the waves outside along with the smell of ocean salt.

"This way I could talk to you privately," he replied casually, a somber expression present. It was then that I knew he was serious. I didn't want to have this talk now.

"Let me sleep," I demanded, my arms crossed. I held a fierce glare which obviously had no effect on him. He was long used to it by now. He chuckled softly, walking towards me slowly. I didn't step back nor did I recoil when he rested his hand on my head, looking at me with that familiar loving look he had.

"You _are_ sleeping, little dhampir."

I groaned, almost expecting that answer from him. He was a smartass, always giving me answers like that. I shoved his hand away softly. Though it wasn't hard enough to give off that I was upset, he still bore a hurt expression. I shook my head. "Honestly Adrian, what do you expect to gain? We have nothing to talk about."

"We have plenty to talk about since you decided to just leave me for that Russian Warlord." I blink, recoiling as if he smacked me. The way he had expressed it made me actually see the severity of how bad this actually was. I had broken his heart. I had to guess it was similar to the way Dimitri had broken mine when he said he didn't want anything to do with me. I frowned. This was too serious, even for Adrian's standards. I stayed silent.

"I just want to know why. You know, besides the obvious reasons," he continued. I shook my head. He wouldn't like the truth. How I somewhat selfishly threw myself into his arms, lying that I loved him. That would just break him apart. His gaze fixated on me. I can tell he was upset. "Tell me."

"Adri-" I was got off by turbulence of the plane, now awake. Dimitri looked over at me, his dark brown eyes studying with some worry before he finally decided that I was just surprised. I blinked, wiping my eyes free from the grogginess that still clung to my face. I turned to look over to Adrian who, in fact still carried the same upset expression he did in the dream. He didn't look over to me.

We landed at LaGuardia airport. From there, we took the shuttle to Grand Central Station and exited to a limo that awaited our arrival. It whisked us off to the New York Skyline Hotel. It was far from the station but apparently somewhere in the hotel was where Lissa would be having her meeting. For the summer, New York was extremely humid. It was gross, apparently a backlash from all the industrial pollution. Almost immediately, Elspeth's hair curled even more, giving her hair a close appearance to ringlets. She groaned in annoyance, stating that she might as well have her hair natural. I could only imagine the toll it was having on my own hair.

The inside of the hotel had a simple colored theme: red, green and shades of gold or bronze. It was simple but it was enough to give the hotel a haughty air to it though it wasn't as fancy as one would think. The carpet was a bland asparagus color, with a box in the middle with a floral design which was only red flower buds with shamrock green twigs and leaves with a pale maroon backdrop. I wasn't as impressed as I thought it would be but then again, the hotel had a wicked view of the Midtown city skyline. Hence the name. It also was lined with stone pillars with comfortable looking chairs. Above the chairs were mirrors that lined the length in-between the pillars. I checked myself. My hair didn't mess up too much.

Checking in was somewhat of a hassle on account that the hotel's studio suite had been already booked. That then left us with having to split up into pairs. Christian immediately wanted to be paired with Lissa but Eddie then suggested that every Moroi rooms with their guardian seeing that it would be much easier. Dimitri looked as if he wanted to protest but he said nothing, silently following Christian to their suite. Lissa could see that I was close to protesting but a look from her immediately shut me up. On the bright side, I was roomed up with her after Elspeth graciously accepted being Adrian's roommate.

"What do you think of Elspeth?" Lissa asked after we had time to do silly and typical teenage sleepover things. Her hair was now braided, courtesy of moi, and she was fiddling with the end of it, curling her blonde hair around her finger. Her jade green eyes studied me closely. I could tell she wanted my honest opinion on this.

"Not sure I guess," I said with a languid shrug. "She seems nice. She actually is but I dunno. She seems _younger_ but she looks like she's only seventeen or something. She's not too keen on sharing personal information either." Lissa nodded, obviously agreeing with me.

"Yeah, I see what you mean but then again, her birthday is in December and other guardians did mention she graduated early. Something about being a special case and was skillful at being a guardian. Somewhat of a natural." I chewed my lip as I processed the information she had just shared. I had heard the same thing. No one really bothered to go into detail about her mostly because all the information they knew was general. Finally, I gave another shrug, laying back into bed. "She's cool in my book."

"Is that the Rose Hathaway final verdict?" Lissa questioned with a grin on her face. I stopped from getting comfortable in my bed and looked over at her, my eyebrows raised. She laughed, getting under her sheets as well. The amused grin never left her face. "You always seemed awfully judgmental of those who guard me. Is she up to your standards?"

I rolled my eyes. Of course Elspeth was. She managed to be there for Lissa before I was able to last night- and that wasn't even the first time. She also seemed to get along with her well which was great. If anything, I would want Elspeth to be her permanent guardian if something were to happen to me. When I relayed that to Lissa, her eyebrows shot up in surprise. I sighed, shaking my head. What was she so surprised about? Then again, my usual infamous attitude wouldn't give her a reason to think as such but hey, I could be a good person when I wanted to.

"I don't know, Rose. You're just awfully pessimistic about things. To speak about Elspeth so highly is a surprise," she said as she reached over shutting off her lamp. She muttered a goodnight before I could hear her soft breathing, indicating she was asleep. I settled into my bed as well, shutting off my lamp. I was soon engulfed in complete darkness, left to my own thoughts. Rather than drift back to bad memories, I thought of tomorrow. Who was the Moroi that had information so urgent to Lissa, the queen, that they couldn't risk leaving their place to come tell her? According to the message, they could have been harmed for harboring such information so it was better if Lissa met them; if that made any sense- which it didn't.

I shrugged to myself, just hoping that the information was worth it. I yawned, finally drifting back off to sleep with thoughts on what the information could possibly be. My last thought that it would probably be something scandalous before I finally let sleep overtake me.


	4. Chapter 3

_I have to apologize that this isn't as long as I had hoped (or as nearly dramatic) but I had a deadline since I'll be leaving for two weeks for a summer program. I won't be able to add a chapter as quickly since I'll be staying at the academy overnight. If worse comes, I won't even be able to update at all. I hope this satisfies you guys for a while though I am starting the next chapter __**right now**__. To hell with sleep.~_

_Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters of the Vampire Academy series. The only one I own is Elspeth._

_**Chapter Three.**_

I woke up with a start, not sure why I was gasping for breath. There was a chance I had a bad dream but I had no recollection of it. When I closed my eyes I could see the images starting to form. Before I could grasp it, they shattered. After ten or so minutes of trying, I gave up. I had a serious headache.

Gazing over at the clock, I realized it was eleven in the morning. We had arrived in New York at midnight, having going straight to bed afterward to switch from our nocturnal schedule. Nine hours of sleep was what I received but I felt like I had only gotten an hour or two. I swallowed the dry lump I had in my throat, coughing slightly. God, why did I feel like a train wreck? I shook it off, running my hand through my hair. It was a mess, as it usually was after sleep.

Lissa stepped out of the bathroom already dressed. I wasn't all too surprised she was ready before I was. She smiled over to me, moving towards the full length mirror on the wall to adjust her small tiara on her head. Of course, in the human world, she wouldn't get away with walking around wearing a crown on her head as if she were the queen of England of something. So instead she carried a small tiara which blended in since some girls enjoyed doing so sometimes (despite wearing tight, short dresses and holding balloons that suggested it was their 21st birthday).

Wordlessly I made my way to the bathroom, groaning at the sight of my disheveled hair. Sometimes it was a wonder Dimitri kisses me in the morning and remarks how beautiful I was. Not with this rats nest I have in the morning. Sighing, I got on with the tedious task of combing my hair, getting ready as quickly as possible for Lissa's sake. I ended up wearing something casual as opposed to the stuffy guardian outfit I'd seen others wear. With humans, there was only so much we could do before we started standing out. Blending in was what we were taught to do.

We met up in the dining area of the hotel, which was as posh as the rest of the hotel. There were chandeliers hanging in the ceiling, a beautiful mosaic painted on the walls of the entire room. The tables were either round or rectangular depending on its position in the room. We took a long rectangular table so we can all sit and eat (after the Moroi had their blood of course). I ate quickly, even picking at Lissa's plate since she didn't eat nearly as much as I did. The conversation was light as it always was with us. I avoided Adrian's eyes the entire time.

A dhampir arrived around the time we had finished eating our breakfast. At first glance he appeared to be one of those guys who belonged in _Sons of Anarchy_ but when he took off his glasses, he had the stern look of a guardian. He looked familiar. He seemed to recognize me as well, nodded in my direction. Even though I nodded back, I still couldn't put my finger on where I'd seen him before.

"I'll lead you to where he is," he said curtly and turned to leave. I shared a glance at Elspeth who seemed tense and on edge all of a sudden. I swallowed. Maybe this guy was something to be worried about. This time I was near guard along with Dimitri and Eddie. Elspeth took far guard though Adrian decided to hang back with her. I was aware that they were talking amongst themselves. I paid no mind to them both.

The dhampir's back was to us the entire time. When he opened the doors, it was then that I realized where he was from. He was the guardian that was there when I was in Russia. He had dragged Viktoria out of the blood whorehouse if i remembered correctly. The memory was suddenly so vivid. My lips suddenly turned dry as I tried to grasp what his name was. "…Pavel?" He nodded at me as if to confirm what I just realized.

"Welcome Queen Vasilisa," Abe Mazur said with a snarky tone in his voice. I could almost kick myself. I knew this meeting was going to be different and scandalous. I fucking knew it. Abe Mazur was my Moroi father and a Turkish mobster of some sorts. Though I knew most of his business was illegal and important (to him anyways) I was sure he had no business dragging Lissa out to New York for whatever reason he wanted- which probably wasn't even a good one to begin with.

I glared at him, moving through Eddie and Lissa, pointing my finger at him. Rage and fury entered me at once- though it was just my normal short temper rather than my temper from sucking the darkness out of Lissa. Let me tell you, the rage that comes from that is no joke.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" He merely smiled at me as if I posed no threat. True, I was his daughter and he could easily dispose of me with the help of his guardians but not with three others in the room plus a two Moroi who have training in offensive magic.

"Nice to see you too Rose. How have you been?" That annoying condescending smirk adorned his face. He might have been my father but god he really got under my skin sometimes. Never mind that he and my mother were sort of hooking up again. I wasn't against it but it just threw a new splash of awkward whenever they were both together ganging up on me for some stupid antic I pulled.

"Shut it old man," I snarled. He tsked softly, waggling his finger. "That's no way to speak to your father."

Oh, how I wanted to punch him.

Dimitri sensed my fury building up. He put his strong hand on my shoulder, calming me within seconds. Sometimes I was amazed by how he had that type of power but then again Dimitri was just a badass- a badass I fell head over heels for.

"Rose it right, Zmey," Dimitri said. If I wasn't so ticked off with my father at the moment, I would have found amusement in this. Despite that Abe was my _father_ and Dimitri was my boyfriend, he never bothered with formalities. It doesn't help that Dimitri doesn't really trust my father. I first found that out when he was Strigoi and we were- _No._ I will not think back to those times. Not right now. I've managed to forget about that. Why dig it up now?

My father, being the wrongly carefree man he was, just shrugged as if none of that matters. Never mind he was a non royal calling the attention of the queen- not that any of that mattered now since Lissa called for equality but some royals were still biased- but he was a _mobster_ non royal calling Lissa's attention. The fact that he was my father didn't make this situation any better than it was.

"I just thought you would be interesting with the riding Strigoi threat," he said with a careless toss of his hand as if Strigoi become a greater threat than they already were wasn't a big deal. My glare deepened but before I could say anything, Elspeth beat my to the punch.

"What Strigoi threat? What could be any worse than them using humans to aid them?" she shot back readily. She seemed just as annoyed with his presence as I was. He smiled though it held no trace of kindness or fondness. Or anything close to a warm and loving emotion for that matter.

"Them using humans _and_ manipulating Court with royal Moroi."

I paled. I remember back to the time when we had just found out that they were using humans. Now they were using Moroi. No, this wasn't just bad. Or even horrible. This could destroy our entire race. No one was safe, no one can be trusted.

Fan_fucking_tastic.


	5. Chapter 4

_Sorry I wasn't able to update. I grace you now with a (short) new chapter. Hopefully this satisfies you for now. I'm working on the new chapter now! Hopefully you don't have too many questions after this chapter. If you do, don't hesitate to PM me but I assure you most of your questions will be answered later!~_

_Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters of the Vampire Academy series. The only one I own is Elspeth._

_**Chapter Four.**_

I shook my head. I refused to believe it. Moroi willingly _staying_ as they are to help the Strigoi. No; it didn't make any sense. Royal Moroi had it all. They had the first pick at guardians and were typically the most protected- save for the Ozeras who were shamed once Christian's parents turned Strigoi. Tasha being the one to kill the late Queen Tatiana didn't help their name. Regardless, Moroi had powers that made them special (some even wielding spirit which only made them all the more exclusive) and had pretty decent lives. Why would they stay mortal after being offered immortality? Hey, I was against the whole Strigoi thing but staying mortal was hard. I had learned that after my time with Dimitri when he was a Strigoi.

"There must be something more behind it. Moroi just don't _help_ Strigoi without any gain- especially royals," Eddie pointed out, nearly reading my mind. I held out my hand in Eddie's direction. _Exactly_, my gesture said but Abe shrugged. He was indifferent to our skepticism as if it didn't even matter.

"Look, I brought it to your attention. I pick up some things easily and as a good samaritan I reported what I know to the queen. It's more than I can say when Tatiana used to be in power. I didn't tell her a thing of what I knew," Abe said. He shrugged once again, motioning to Pavel to follow him out. Before he could get too far, Elspeth stopped him, gently pushing him back to his chair at the head of the table he was at previously. For the first time, I actually noticed there was a freaking table- which was amazing since the table was long and took up most of the room. Custom carved chairs lined it and the biggest (and comfiest looking) was where my father was standing behind before we came in. I took a seat immediately.

"What have you heard?" she asked. Her tone was something I didn't recognize; or simply couldn't because well, Elspeth was so baby-faced. To see her so serious and monotonous was somewhat odd and frightening almost. Like a ghost girl from a movie whose intent on killing everyone. It was chilling mostly because she looked like a kid. Abe seemed completely unfazed by her tone and seriously freaky glare. God, nothing fazes this man.

"Now, now Elspeth I don't suppose you should have that tone with me."

"I'll have any tone I want. Now tell me what you know. _Now_," she demanded. Something told me the advancement of Strigoi was a touchy subject for her. Even more so than it was for normal people. It seemed to be sensitive on the level it was for Christian, Dimitri and I. As if she had lost someone who had become one of them. Her tone, as my father pointed out, was rather snippy. Similar to mine when I decide to be snarky. My father didn't find it the least bit amusing. His expression turned serious. For a second I was scared for Elspeth's wellbeing. Then-

"_Elspeth Vhalia Mazur _ you will _not_ speak to me in that tone. Do you understand?" he asked in that deadly, I'm-not-fucking-around-here tone. I was no stranger to that tone but unlike the time he used it with me, he wasn't smiling. Elspeth blinked though not scared. I, on the other hand, had my jaw wide open. My eyes never left the two at the end of the table.

"Mazur?" Lissa repeated. When I looked at her, she was seated across from me with a look just as surprised as mine was. It seemed as if everyone followed my suit after I had taken a seat. I jumped to my feet, pointing at Elspeth.

"What do you mean Mazur?"

Abe regarded me with an annoyed expression, something I wasn't a stranger to. Of course I didn't need clarification for what it meant. It could only mean two things: either she was his daughter or some sort of relative. I quickly pushed out the latter option mostly because it was so ridiculous. Dhampir relatives to a Moroi _do not_ carry their names. That was why my last name was Hathaway and not Mazur. But she couldn't be his daughter either…

"Elspeth is my daughter." Mother fucker. How could he be so nonchalant about this? His _daughter? You've got to be kidding_ me.

"What?" I asked, surprised with how loud my voice had risen. I felt a pang in my heart as if I were betrayed almost. I was his only daughter, right? But now, looking at her and him, I saw the resemblance between them. They had so many things alike, it was scary almost. Then again, I didn't know who her mother was so I really couldn't compare her to her mother as well. For the most part, she looked a lot like my father and held his demeanor.

"Mind your tone, Roza," Dimitri whispered from behind me. It was the first time I noticed his presence. His hand was on my shoulder, giving a comforting squeeze. It made me feel a little more at ease. I couldn't help that my nerves were still jumping as well as my heart rate quickening. Mazur…this would mean that Elspeth was my half sister.

"Honestly Rose it's not that hard to follow. Her surname is Mazur. She is my daughter; your sister. I am done with what I had to say. This is just extra information. Now I must go," Abe said slightly blasé about the entire ordeal. I was about to stop him from leaving but Dimitri stopped me. Abe gave a formal bow to Lissa before Elspeth's voice stopped him at the door.

"We're going to talk about this. You can't run away from this _Dad_," she said sternly. Abe turned around, a crooked grin gracing his face. It held no humor at all. "And when will that be?" His cocky attitude irritated even me even though it was directed at Elspeth.

"At home."

With a shrug, my father left with his guardian. I had no doubt that he would remain in the area just to keep a close eyes on _both_ his daughters- God, how weird was it to admit that?- and to make sure that were didn't flip out. My gaze fell on Elspeth who kept her eyes downcast. Her hands were balled into tight fists. We were all silent though I was annoyingly aware of Lissa's eyes switching between Elspeth and I. From my peripherals I noticed Jill biting her lips nervously. She was obviously biting off the remarks she oh-so-desperately wanted to rattle off in awkward tension that she felt. This was similar to the situation when we found out that she and Lissa were half sisters as well. The tension between them was the same but Lissa being herself actually attempted (somewhat) to befriend her new family member. Elspeth and I on the other hand were both headstrong and closed off to our emotions. We remained in silence before I heard a chair creak and footsteps move towards Elspeth. It was Adrian, much to my surprise.

"Hey, hey, hey. No need to get so worked up about it, right?" he said soothingly, putting a comforting arm around her shoulder and pulling her close into a half embrace. Sometimes he surprised me with how sweet he could actually be. "We're in New York. You can totally let loose at any time." I spoke too soon.

"I don't think those are the words of comfort she had in mind, Adrian," Dimitri said with a soft sigh. Adrian shot us his lopsided grin and to my surprise, Elspeth looked up at him with a grin of her own. The glare she had before was gone without a trace as if she never saw my- our father at all. In fact, her expression held childish glee that made her seem all the more younger. Before anything else could be said, Christian stood, clasping his hands together.

"Well then I suppose it's okay for us to get going to do some…stuff…" he announced, somewhat awkwardly. Lissa cleared her throat, rising with him. I nodded, my throat suddenly to dry to speak. Lissa's face seemed melancholy in light of recent events. It was odd, something that didn't belong on her angelic face. Christian squeezed her hand.

"I think I do need time to…process everything before I make a decision," Lissa said quietly. If the bond was still present, I was sure I'd feel the confusion pour through it. Even without the bond I had a good sense of reading her now just by her body language and expression. It was handy. Jill sprang to her feet excitedly.

"We should dress out of these proper clothes and changed into something comfortable to tour the city briefly!" Jill added optimistically. Christian smiled over at her, thankful for her suggestion. I cast a glance over at Elspeth quickly before turning back to Jillian, forcing a smile. A day out suddenly seemed fabulous. Despite the questions running rampant in my mind, I thought it was best that Elspeth and I should have this discussion later. In private. Not to mention that we now knew that Moroi were aiding Strigoi in life rather than in death. We silently filed out of the office and headed towards our suites. We had packed for another day or so in New York which meant we were probably leaving tomorrow instead of in two days as we had planned. I was anxious to get my mind off the now reeling thoughts I had thanks to my new discovery.

_**ePOV**_

"Hey kiddo, how are you holding up?" Adrian asked as he exited the bathroom. He was rubbing his upper torso dry with a towel, only wearing jeans. I've never seen him so dressed down before. Then again, I've known him for years and he usually dresses to impress unless I prod him to be more casual. I sighed, lying on my back onto the bed. I could hear a chuckle come from him. "That good huh?"

"Well, I wasn't certainly expecting that. I mean, I know Dad has a past but damn. I didn't think any of his secrets would be that big," I said softly, relaxing into my position. I kind of wanted to go to sleep. I wasn't looking forward towards the little day out that Jillian had in mind. It was only going to be awkward as we wandered throughout a city I've come to known best.

"I understand what you're feeling," he said softly, sitting beside me on the bed. He lifted my head so it could rest in his lap, playing with my hair mindlessly. I looked up at him expectantly. "Do you really Adrian?"

"No, but your aura tells me exactly how you're feeling," he said cheekily. If I wasn't so comfortable, I would have reach out and smacked him. I rolled my eyes instead. He laughed, smoothing my hair back. He noted how it was getting wavy. I sighed, sitting up reluctantly from my comfortable position. I could feel his eyes on me.

"I don't know if I could do this." I felt him shift on my bed. I felt his arms wrap around me in a tight embrace. I suddenly felt younger again. My mature bravado suddenly faltered. I was no longer the mature guardian everyone had thought me to be. I nestled myself in his embrace.

"Do what? Be a guardian? Be Lissa's guardian?" he asked solemnly. I knew how serious he was now.

" Be Rose's sister." He pulled away, looking down at me with inquiries just littering his mind. Before he could ask, I sighed once more, resting my head on his chest. "Don't you think she won't really accept me as her sister? I mean, we have like a four year difference and she probably doesn't like me and-"

"Whoa there kiddo. You're jumping the gun. Rose most likely sees you as cool kid," he said jokingly. I rolled my eyes. "Fabulous. Let's not even mention that I'm a minor." He chuckled. "Fifteen is not that bad." I gave him a pointed look. He only grinned back, playing with my hair again. Just then the door opened, revealing Rose. Her expression seemed stunned, shocked even before it returned to that infamous guardian neutrality.

"We're going to leave soon," she stated before she left, slamming the door a little bit. I cleared my throat, moving out of Adrian's embrace. I scampered over to my shoes, pulling on my Converse. When I turned to him, he still sat on the bed with that idiot flippant smile of his.

"It looks like we got your sister mad," he said with triumph evident in his tone. I grabbed the nearest pillow and threw it at his head. He laughed, trying to deflect it lazily as he reached over for his shirt. I groaned, getting up to my feet. Getting her angry in any aspect of the sense was the last thing I wanted to do. Especially with all that's going on.

"C'mon Ivashkov. Let's go."


	6. Chapter 5

_I'm proud to say this chapter is a bit longer than I expected. Special shout out to Ilovevampirsangels for being the first to follow my story (thank you so much dear!) and to LoveKittyKat for being the first to favorite this story. It actually shows me that you guys really enjoy this story! Thank you both so much!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters of the Vampire Academy series. The only one I own is Elspeth._

_**Chapter Five**_

_**rPOV**_

The last thing I needed was for Lissa to start asking questions about everything. But the first thing she did once we got into our suite was exactly that. I groaned, repacking a few things I had hastily thrown about this morning.

"C'mon Rose! You have to tell me you at least know _something_ about her!" Lissa urged as she stripped her clothing. We were long used to being half naked around each other now. Sometimes in our travels during the two years we were gone, we were left with less than fabulous conditions. Among having to let Lissa feed off me, we were accustomed to changing in front of one another.

"I don't know anything. I think I made that clear from the way I just stared at my father," I snapped. Lissa shrugged off my attitude as if I didn't just snap at her. I sighed. "Sorry."

"No, I get it. It's freaky to find out you have a new half sister thanks to your father who never bothered to tell you about it until your sister was already grown up," she told me. I took noticed of the bitter underlying in her voice when she said that. Not only was she referencing to now but she was talking about when she first found out about Jill. I nodded, running my hand through my hair. I stood up off the bed, stretching. It earned a groan of relief from me.

"I just think we all need a bit of relaxation before we get to the headache inducing stuff." Lissa nodded. She knew that I meant the whole Moroi aiding Strigoi thing. It was a scary to think of. I was sure Lissa wanted to avoid it as much as I did. As she slipped on her dress and shoes, she looked up at me.

"Is that what you're wearing?" she asked with an eyebrow raised. I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt. Not the ideal, over the top New York summer style but I wasn't trying to earn any looks from sleazy guys on the streets. I shrugged. "Well I have to be dressed cutely so you have to. I can't look like some princess and then have you next to me." I chuckled.

"Do I look like a bum next to you?" Lissa smiled. "Yes but you're still a beautiful bum to me." I snorted, pulling on my shoes. I pointed to her light blue umbrella. "Bring that, Liss. New York gets hot and humid due to pollution. Not to mention the sun heat." She looked at her umbrella then back at me.

"But the it's only going to be 79 degrees today!"

"79 degrees of heat and intense sun. New York is no joke, Liss. Bring it. I'll be telling the others," I called as I left the room. I headed to Jillian's room first. I popped in quickly, telling her to bring an umbrella and to dress nicely. Lissa's idea of cute summer wear was the same idea that Jill was going for since she wore a pale pink summer dress. Eddie followed the suit, wearing bright colors as well. It was nice to see him out of the guardian black and white.

I left them alone, moving to Adrian and Elspeth's suite which was across from Christian and Dimitri's. I opened the door without bothering to knock. Before me, curled up on what only could be Elspeth's bed (because Adrian never was tidy), were both Adrian and Elspeth. She was in his- dare I say- loving embrace. She was looking up at him, grinning as he played with her hair. When I entered, their attention snapped to me immediately. I wiped off the shocked expression off my face. I regained my neutral expression once more, even holding a bit of bitterness with it.

"We're going to leave soon," I muttered angrily before I slammed the door on my way out. I stood there in the hall for a few moments, my hand still on the doorknob. I stared at the door in front of me though I wasn't really looking at it. My mind was still on what I just saw. Were Adrian and Elspeth…_lovers_? I shuddered even thinking about it. But why would he just be with her? Then again, I did see the together often since the first days we arrived at Court before Lissa was granted queen. Always talking to each other- always too close to be just friends. My eyes widened.

Oh my God. Adrian was screwing my sister.

"Rose?" Christian called. He snapped me out of my thoughts and for the first time I noticed that he and Dimitri were standing in the doorway examining me. Dimitri looked worried. I cleared my throat, shaking my head and waving my hands. "Yeah, yeah I'm good…I'm fine." Dimitri grabbed my wrist as I tried to walk away. He didn't need to say anything for me to know that he wanted to know what was up for real. I gave him a convincing smile though I knew he wasn't playing into my bullshit.

"I'm fine. Don't give me that look," I said playfully, swatting at his hand. He let go of me and I knocked on the door for Lissa to come out. She came out in a silver and white sundress that made her features pop out. I could hear Christian chuckle. Lissa walked over to him, giving him a kiss on the cheek as they began to leave together. Soon, Jill came out of her suite and skipped after them. For a fifteen year old, she really didn't act like it. Not to mention she was turning sixteen soon.

Eddie left the room, locking the door after him. Elspeth and Adrian came out together, hovering close to one another. I looked away, disgusted with Adrian in particular. If I had any guess I'd say Elspeth was younger than me by a year or so. That meant he was pushing it with the age difference. Then again, who was I to talk when the man I was in love with was seven years my senior? I shook my head, pushing their romantic interlude out of my mind. I walked with Dimitri, my hand in his. In New York, we had no worries about appearances really. There were too many people minding their own business to care that Dimitri and I were actually dhampir guardians to Royals. It was refreshing to be free from that one rule hanging over our heads. Lissa turned to me and cast me a smile. She was holding her umbrella over her and Christian. Being Moroi, they had a low tolerance to the sun. In New York, the sun was pretty intense.

"Can we go to Toys R Us? Let's take a picture!" Jill suggested. Lissa looked at the grand toy store and shrugged, a childish smile matching her younger sister's on her face. She agreed, taking Jillian's hand as they scampered across the street. I looked at Dimitri with a smirk. If anything, he looked the eldest with all of us. It would be pretty amusing to see Dimitri trying to play with toys.

Much to her glee, as soon as we entered we were asked if we wanted to take a picture in front of the ferris wheel. We all accepted, taking our positions naturally and smiling into the photo. The camera man notified us that on our way out at the other side of the store we can get our pictures. Jillian stared in wonder at all the things she could do. There were employees actually _playing_ with the toys with some kids, demonstrating some of the cool things or even employees dressed up as superheroes for the kids. What really drew Jillian's eye was the Candy Land section which was to our immediate right. We followed her, grabbing bags for the candy and filling it to our pleasure.

"What's this?" Dimitri questioned as he held up a chocolate figure. He was chewing and I could see bits of marshmallow with a colored center. I chuckled, grabbing to take a bite of it as well. "It's chocolate covered marshmallow filled with jam." He hummed, deciding it was delicious. He grabbed a couple more of them to my amusement. I fed him a Sour Patch Kid and he gave me a gummy worm. I heard laughter to my left and when I turned, Adrian was feeding Elspeth taffy. Now if that didn't scream cheesy couple I didn't know what did.

"Why haven't we visited New York before? It's awesome!" Jillian exclaimed as she dug her hand into her filled bag of candy. I laughed, finally feeling the stresses and worried of this morning fade away.

"I agree with you," Lissa said as she took a bite of Hershey bar. I smiled as we continued throughout the store. It felt like we spent ages in the humungous store. We visited the superhero section, the Lego section, the Jurassic Park dinosaur that managed to scare the shit out of Jill when it roared, we went back down to the ferris wheel and back up to the video game store they had there. Heck, we even hit the princess castle they had when Lissa thought it would be funny for us to dress up there. When we finally reached the developer station, we all had wide smiles on our faces. Even Eddie who sometimes took the guardian job far serious than Dimitri does.

"Thank you," the blonde woman said as she accepted the ticket from Lissa. Our photo came up on the display monitor. I felt another smile tugging on my lips as I examined it. Lissa was leaning into Christian's half embrace yet her hand held mine. I kept a grin on my face as Dimitri rested his cheek on my head casually, his arm wrapped around my waist protectively as his elbow rested on Eddie's shoulder who comically decided to exaggerate a guardian pose. Jillian had her hands on her chest, her eyes on Eddie with her mouth open slightly to indicate that she was laughing. Elspeth's body was toward Adrian who had his arm around her waist. She was smiling at the camera along with Adrian who seemed close to laughing. It was such a nice picture.

"Oh my God Eddie what the hell are you doing?" Elspeth asked before she burst into laughter. The rest of us joined in, finding Eddie's too serious expression priceless. We each got a picture packet with a normal sized picture and a wallet sized one. Most of us put the picture immediately into our wallets. I sighed as the humid air of the city nipped away at the coolness that Toys R Us had provided us. We immediately decided to go to the Planet Hollywood for lunch. Much to my surprise, it was barely 1:30 when we were seated.

We had a pleasant lunch, joking and laughing as we ate. We even got to see that Jhonny Depp decided to eat at the restaurant as well. He was taking pictures with some of the customers there. Lissa and Jill managed to get a photo as well. Elspeth managed to talk to him and I gave him a wave as we exited. By the time we returned to the hotel at 3:54, I was tired. I kicked off my shoes and climbed into my bed. Lissa sighed, laying back down in hers. I knew immediately that she wasn't going to take a power nap as I had planned.

"What's up Liss?" I asked. I was still curled in my cool blankets, my head resting on my plush pillow. There was nothing wrong with being comfortable while consoling my best friend. Let's just hope I didn't fall asleep while she was explaining things. Her jade eyes fixated on me before she sighed. She looked ready to refuse to tell me. It was then that I sat up out of my comfortable position. "Tell me."

I waited for her to start speaking about her troubles. If there was something I was always told was that _they come first_. I put that phrase to test my entire life. Even now, though I desperately wanted to take a nap, I sat up and listened to Lissa tell me what was bothering her. I soon moved over to her bed to give her a hug as she continued to speak. Of course they come first. It might have been hard but they always did. No matter what.

_**ePOV**_

Walking back into my suite was sobering after the excitement of today. As we left the office that morning Christian and muttered to me about how he and Dimitri wanted to know what was going on. I told them I would if we had time later. I thought we would be out in the city all day but unfortunately, we had come back extremely early. It was nearly four hours before we'd even start thinking about dinner. With that time gap in mind, both Christian and Dimitri came into my suite that I shared with Adrian.

"Elspeth, exactly how old are you?" Dimitri demanded at once. His dark eyes were examining me closely. I sighed before I sat up and answered. I looked up at them both. Christian's blue eyes were searching my face for something. Something to tip off the resemblance between Rose and I no doubt. Dimitri on the other hand seemed to remain standing.

"I'm sixteen. I'm turning seventeen in January," I answered cooly. Dimitri ran his hand through his hair. I just noticed that his hair wasn't in the ponytail it usually was in. It was Christian who gave the initial expression of shock.

"What!? How could you be? You're not even officially graduated yet! Not to mention that you've been at Court for years so…so…" he trailed off.

"So I was far too young when I first became a guardian? Yes, I know. I've been through a lot when I was a kid." Christian's eyes turned to Adrian. They were almost accusing in the sense.

"And you knew? This whole time?" he questioned. Adrian, being his flippant self just shrugged and nodded as if it were no big deal. Christian shook his head. "How long have you known Elspeth?" was the next question Christian shot at him. "Nearly four years."

"So you've only known her a year longer than I've known Rose?" Dimitri asked. Adrian nodded. He was a man of few words suddenly which was so unlike him. Dimitri returned his attention to me once more. His gaze was intense. Why was he so bent on finding out about this? Why couldn't he wait until Rose filled him in on it?

"How is it that You've been a guardian since you were _twelve_?" he asked. "Thirteen," I corrected automatically. Belikov didn't seem pleased by the correction. Then again he's kept that same intense stare this entire time.

"Story time," Adrian said with a smirk. I shot him a glare and he only shot back a smile. I shook my head, sitting up straight on my bed. It was then that Dimitri and Christian took a seat with the extra chairs at the desks. I cracked my knuckles, unsure with how I was going to start this.

"My mother and my father had me because of one drunk night together. In short, I wasn't planned at all. My parents were best friends if anything,"I began. The look on Christian's face reminded me that most people couldn't fathom Abe Mazur having a best friend. I continued regardless. "My mother, his favorite guardian, died during childbirth. Her only wish was that he didn't leave me like Janine made him leave Rose." That definitely earned a reaction from Dimitri.

"I was raised with my father and took the surname Mazur. In school, kids found it sort of cool that I was a dhampir with a Moroi last name. When I was nine years old, my school was attacked by Strigoi. Only a few classes from the school escaped. From then I spent my life on the road with my dad and my best friend. Sometimes Dad would leave us by ourselves for about a week or two but both he and I were trained by the elite guards my father had hang around. When we were twelve, we were attacked by Strigoi. They took my best friend. It wasn't until later that year that I saw that he was still alive but he was falling for the Strigoi culture. After I had turned thirteen, Abe did some convincing for Tatiana that she accept me a a guardian. Despite my age, I had already managed to kill several Strigoi. They acknowledged it and I was promised," I concluded quickly. I had my hair up in a ponytail all day. My molinja marks were visible. Christian's eyes were wide. Dimitri's expression remained the same.

"I like how you gave the short version. You skipped all the good parts. Why don't you tell them?" Adrian questioned. I felt a familiar feeling wash over me. I glared over at him, gritting my teeth as I spoke. "Don't use compulsion on me!"

Christian snapped out of his momentary daze from my story. His icy blue eyes locked onto me in a second. I stared back at him almost defiantly. "How do you know about compulsion?" I opened my mouth to speak but Adrian's chuckle silenced me. All of our eyes fell on him.

"Well, that's simple. Little Elspeth here is shadow kissed," he said simply.

"_What!?_" Came a voice at the door. We all turned around to see Rose with Lissa behind her. Both of their eyes were wide with shock. My eyes were wide too. I then realized that I had a _lot_ of explaining to do now.


	7. Chapter 6

_I'm sorry I took nearly a month to update. I got hit with a severe case of writers block to the point it was effective everything I was working on as a writing project. However, tonight (August 18) I got hit with random inspiration. Please excuse any mistakes. It's like 6 am and I'm rather bleary eyed and tired. I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters of the Vampire Academy series. The only one I own is Elspeth._

_**Chapter Six**_

_**rPOV**_

Lissa and I talked for a few minutes about Moroi's new involvement with Strigoi. We weren't sure who decided that it would be okay to aid them. She was awfully upset about it and the way she thought of it, it wouldn't be easy to find out exactly _who_ was the mole amongst the Royals. Times in my past led me to realize that it could be literally anybody. Lissa wasn't safe at Court anymore. Fucking fabulous. I told her that as soon as we got back, a closed meeting be issued between the royal families. She agreed, thinking it would be best to start with just them before alerting the entire Moroi community.

"Guess what I saw," I told her as we exited out into the hallway. I kept my voice low. Much to my favor, none of the others were in the hallway. Lissa's eyes were on me on an instant as we walked slowly down the hallway. The sun was still high in the sky so taking a casual stroll was out of the question. We decided on pacing back and forth in the hallway should suffice for now. I didn't need her to speak so I'd know she was interested with what I had to say.

"I walked in on Adrian and Elspeth," I hissed in a lower tone than needed. Her eyes widened and I shook my head quickly. I knew the first thought that came to her head. "No, not like that but they certainly did seem _comfortable_ with each other." That uneasy feeling returned. It was something I felt after getting a glimpse of them… _canoodling_ on Elspeth's neat bed. God, I didn't even want to know what could have went on if I hadn't intervened. Her jade green eyes searched mine to find something, _anything_ that would entail that I was lying. It seemed as if she didn't want to think of it that way as much as I did.

"So? Do you think they're together?" she asked. Her lips were tugged into a pout. I could tell that she was disappointed in Adrian. I shrugged though I was sure my face displayed discontent. Of course I wasn't _comfortable_ with them being together. But who was I to suddenly rip them away from each other?

"How well do you even think they've known each other?" I muttered. How the hell could they know each other so well? Knowing Adrian for as long as I have (almost three years now), I would guess that they probably didn't do much talking. He never bothered to open up to people he wasn't bothering to become close with. Lissa shrugged, clearly as distraught as I was. "Do you think we should ask them what's going on?"

"No!" Lissa hissed, slapping my arm. Of course it didn't hurt- she was so petite compared to me and I had years of training to keep me immune to even her strongest hits (and trust me, she managed to sock a guy in the face and stake Dimitri). I shrugged her off, entering their room regardless. I nearly rolled my eyes as the golden brass knob turned all the way. Didn't they even bother with locking their suite? I heard murmuring inside once I opened the door a little. I assumed the pair were on their bed again talking. Lissa, though she was against it, came behind me as well when I opened the door all the way.

I was surprised to see Dimitri and Christian in their room as well. I wasn't expecting that. My focus immediately went to Adrian who was talking. I apparently didn't trigger anyone's alarm. Dimitri, however, visibly tensed at my presence. He knew I was there.

"Well, that's simple. Little Elspeth here is shadow kissed," Adrian had said as if it was no big deal. I paled.

"_What?!_" I exclaimed loudly. Dimitri finally turned around, his face displaying that of slight worry- why? I wasn't sure. Who exactly was he worried for? Me or my si- Elspeth? Speaking of the little devil, her eyes were wide, displaying clear shock. For a guardian that has been trained for technically longer than I have, she didn't do a good job of noticing me slip into her room. In fact, she even left their suite door open. That's another mistake. Suddenly she wasn't the badass I was thinking her to be.

"Yep, your little sister is shadow kissed. For longer than you've been too. She utilizes it like a pro." Adrian bore a smirk as if it were all a joke. I clenched my fists. I felt Lissa's dainty hands on my shoulder. I calmed a bit. He elbowed Elspeth. "Tell them Elle. About _everything_."

My sister whipped around to face him, quickly striking out at him. She socked him right in the cheek. Dimitri pounced on her in an instant, his instincts clearly kicking in. Adrian successfully fell of the bed. Despite the fact that I should have been prepared to hold back Elspeth, I laughed. God, it's about time someone punched him for his damn mouth. Some part of me was proud that it was my little sister.

"What is the matter with you?!" Dimitri exclaimed. My laughter died down in an instant. I was by his side, gently tugging on him so he'd let her go. Her arms were crossed. Her expression told us she was angry. I saw that she was clutching her arm tightly, her fingernails digging into her arm. I winced yet still reached out to her. I half expected her to lash out at me. She didn't, thankfully. Elspeth allowed me to uncurl her fingers and sit her down on the bed to relax. My expression was stern and sisterly (at least I hope that's how it came off as).

"Explain. Now." It was a demand not a request. She hesitated for a moment, biting her lip. By then, Adrian had recovered with the help of Lissa. He was rubbing his sore cheek. Annoyingly, the smirk was still on his face as if this was all amusing. "Yeah, tell her. Everything this time, no?" My sister shot him a glare but returned to me, her lip jutted out in a pout. She suddenly looked like a kid to me- someone way younger than what she was (or I had assumed her to be).

"Well, first thing is first I guess. I'm actually sixteen." My jaw dropped. I shot a quick glare at Adrian. Yeah, he was _seriously_ pushing the age thing now. He was about six years older than Elspeth. Albeit it wasn't as bad as Dimitri and I (but then again, look how much shit we had to go through just because of that and the whole guardian thing?) I still didn't approve. I stayed silent however, allowing her to continue. She nodded.

"And I guess…I became shadow kissed when I was a kid." She stopped, not explaining further. I narrowed my eyes at her. "You guess?!"

"Rose." Dimitri chastised from behind me in that teacherly tone of his. He leaned down next to my ear. I could smell his cologne. "Please don't snap at her. Hear her out." I turned my head sharply.

"Oh are you good buddies now? Did she tell you?" I said accusingly. He sighed. "Roza please…" His tone of exasperation registered in my mind. I calmed down immediately. I could hear Adrian groan somewhere in the background. His voice seemed distant so I assumed he was checking himself in the mirror.

"Dammit Elle! Look what you did to my beautiful face!" he exclaimed. I rolled my eyes as did Elspeth. "You'll live you over dramatic priss." Christian chuckled. Adrian gave her a playful half glare. Elspeth shot him a grin to show that she wasn't really angry with him. I rolled my eyes. They're gross.

"Um, Elspeth?" Lissa peeped up quite timidly (which was rather uncharacteristic of her). Elspeth's attention went to her immediately. She hummed. "Who is your bond mate?" Elspeth's body went rigid immediately. She opened her mouth to speak but closed it quickly. I teared my eyes away from her and looked over at Adrian who, evidentially, seemed to know everything. He seemed unnerved as well. I crossed my arms.

"El-"

"Guys!" Jill said happily as she opened the door and skipped inside. She was fifteen, turning sixteen in December. She, in contrast to my sister, looked childish for her age yet she was mature at the same time. Don't get me wrong, her cheerful nature made her seem quick child-like yet when she had something to say, she meant it and she had something intelligent to back her opinion up. Yet with her light brown hair and jade green eyes, she seemed to be the epitome of innocence.

"Hey Jailbait," Adrian called out affectionately. Jill grinned from ear to ear in an instant, rushing over to him and giving him a hug. I was still convinced that Jillian had a small crush on Adrian but I wasn't sure. The was she looked at Adrian wasn't the same way she looked at Eddie (though sometimes she did give Adrian the same look of admiration). I looked over at Elspeth through my peripherals to see her reaction. Unlike most of us in the group, she clearly wasn't the crazy jealous type. She still sat there in the same position not a hand space away from me.

Eddie strolled in too, still sporting the same clothing. I would have assumed that he would have taken a nap but guessing by the way Jillian seemed so excited I'd say she had gotten hyper and probably wouldn't allow poor Eddie to sleep. He walked near Dimitri who still stood off to my right. He had a neutral facial expression.

"Did I miss something?" he asked. Like a good guardian, I guess he realized the tension the must had settled in the room. "Nothing," Elspeth commented rather crossly. She rose suddenly, grabbing a towel and a pile of clothing with her. Dimitri called out to her.

"Where are you going?"

"For a swim. Don't wait up." She slammed the door behind her. Eddie looked over to Dimitri for clarification. In return he mouthed '_I'll tell you later_' and Eddie didn't mention anything else about the matter. Jillian frowned, still staring after where Elspeth had left not too long ago.

"Do you think I should go talk to her?" she asked softly. She took a step forward but Adrian stopped her saying that he should do it. I stared after him, my eyes narrowing accusingly. I wanted to know if they were dating this instant.

_**ePOV**_

I stomped down the halls of the hotel bare foot. I didn't bother to remember to grab sandals but who cares? From what I experienced in New York, most didn't really give a flying fuck in the first place and right now, I was too pissed to even consider caring.I wasn't really paying attention to where I was going. It was as if I was on autopilot. I got a pool key from the admissions desk and went into the locker room, shoving my clothing in the locker that matched the number on my key. I stripped down and wrapped the towel around myself grabbing my bathing suit with me. I washed myself with the complimentary liquid soap that the hotel had to offer (it was usually something I didn't do but I didn't grab my soap either so) and quickly pulled on my bathing suit. I sighed as I walked out into the pool arena, thankful that nobody else was present.

I took my time easing myself into the pool, taking the assumption that nobody would be in the pool in a while considering it was still pretty early. Besides, this was New York City: the city that never sleeps. People wouldn't really come to the pool until it was around 1 am and they were piss drunk or something.

I allowed myself to relax, trying to push out the memories of him out of my head. He was still alive, that I knew. I felt his emotions all the time. I felt him using spirit but never was I able to go into his mind- not again. The Strigoi must have taught him how to block me. It was only a matter of thought of how powerful he's grown especially with the aid of Strigoi. In a twisted sense, Strigoi had like a stronger, more evil version of spirit. Having a spirit user on their side was dangerous. I would track him if i could but he was never in my relative area in addition to learning to block me out. It was eating me up inside. The pain I had been blocking out came flooding back within me. I found myself growing more annoyed and angry. I knew it was the darkness but I couldn't help it.

I found myself with my eyes closed shut and my body trembling with anger before I felt a hands on my shoulder. A familiar feeling of spirit washed over me. My eyes fluttered open and I saw Adrian in front of me in the pool. He looked awfully worried for me. I wouldn't blame him. While he was gone, I didn't have him around to heal the darkness out of me. Whenever he would return to Court and see how I've become to a near disarray of a person, he'd instantly worry and heal me quickly before he'd run off and train with Lissa.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his hands now down at his sides. I nodded. I felt better shadow kissed wise but emotionally my heart ached. I know it was bad to sees loved one become Strigoi but imagine your loved one staying alive and going over to aid them. It hurts much worse to know that they're alive and they're now your enemy.

"I think you need to take the edge off." My eyes didn't meet his. They were still focused on the lights on the ceiling. He shifted in the pool and I heard him talking. It took me a second to realize what he just said to me. "Adrian, no. I'm a guardian. I can't get drunk. Besides, I'm not of age."

"I am of age. Do you realize how long I've been waiting to get drunk with you? I couldn't get drunk with a thirteen year old you know," he stated with a grin. I rolled my eyes. Though when the human servant came back with the drinks, I couldn't help but feel tempted. Adrian wasn't using spirit on me, that much I knew but I suppose the option of being able to let go was all too tempting. However, I held out. On his fourth drink was when I finally grabbed my untouched glass from the edge of the pool and knocked it back far too quickly. The alcohol burned my throat and I coughed but having drinking it so quickly had made the alcohol affect me quicker. I hadn't had a drink in years (or namely ever in my life) so I guess I was a bit of a lightweight. Adrian grinned over at me, summoning the human girl again and getting us more drinks.

"I'm glad you're winding down finally," he said clearly, leaning back into the corner of the pool. Despite having five drinks, he seemed to have no problem speaking. I, on the other hand, was already slurring my words after just two and a half. My head swam in a semi pleasant yet nauseating manner. I licked my lips, taking the fruitiness of the drink I had received. I didn't know the name of it but it tasted nice.

"I feel really good," I said in an unintentional sultry manner. Adrian's eyebrows raised. Was he surprised by me? I swam closer to him, enjoying the way he eyed me. Of course he's known me since I was just a preteen and didn't have much to show but now, at age 16, I had curves. I looked older than I was supposed to. Not to mention that I regularly hid my figure behind my boyish clothing. Seeing me in a nice fitting bikini was something of a drug to men. I figured that out.

"Elle…" he growled. Lust filled his voice as I straddled his lap in the water. His arms lowered from resting on the edge of the pool to on my waist. I pressed myself again him. I heard him groan slightly. I bit my lip to hide back my grin. My arms wrapped around his neck and I didn't hesitate to begin leaving kisses from his lips to his collarbone, nipping slightly. I knew I shouldn't have done it- he was a royal Moroi and I was a dhampir; the guardian of the queen no less but damn he looked so irresistible in my current state.

He grabbed my face in his hands and kissed my fiercely. My body felt warm from his touches as his hands began to wander. God, he knew how to drive me crazy with his tease touches. I leaned into him more, wanting to feel more of his touch. His lips trailed down to my neck and I moaned, tilting my head back. He groaned, his lips still attached to my neck. He was careful not to touch his fangs to my skin (he was a bit temperamental with the whole blood whore thing as much as I was) but made sure I'd have a hickey by the end of this. I began to grind my hips against his, not quite sure how to go about this. My body seemed to respond automatically, a light hum settling on my nerves giving me a high.

"God Elspeth," he moaned into my ear as he gripped my hips. His lips went back to my neck, traveling up until he was kissing me hungrily again. Even in my drunken stupor I was aware of somebody else walking into the pool arena. It wasn't until I heard a shrill squeak that Adrian and I pulled away sharply. I nearly lost my footing and fell back into the shallow water. Thank god years of training kept me upright despite my drunk state.

"Wha-What?!" Jill exclaimed as her eyes traveled back and forth between Adrian and I. She seemed shocked (and slightly hurt if I was seeing things right) and her hand immediately gripped Eddie's. I realized that they were both in their bathing suits, ready to go for a swim. My face flushed a darker shade then it was already after the intense make out session I had with Adrian.

I hopped out of the pool, surprisingly walking as straight as I could past them. "Not a word. To anyone. Do you understand?" I threatened, using the best glare I could muster in my state. They both nodded. I may not have been older than Eddie but in terms of guardian status, I had seniority so he had no choice to respect my orders. I stumbled into the locker room, somehow getting myself changed into my clothes. I staggered back into the halls, navigating with blurred memory back to my suite. I took notice at the time on the clock. Only and hour and some minutes until dinner. I flopped on the bed, knocking out almost instantly.

Even with my last few thoughts occurring in my mind I realized that my heart didn't ached any less now. If anything, it hurt even more.


End file.
